Described below are a charging station for charging an electric vehicle and the charging post thereof.
In the case of charging stations for electric vehicles, in particular for electric passenger vehicles, a differentiation is made between wire-bound and wireless charging stations or charging processes. Wireless charging takes place inductively so that the corresponding magnet coil of the charging station can, for example, be positioned directly under a surface of a parking spot on which the vehicle is parked for charging or positioned recessed into the surface of the parking spot. Therefore, the wireless charging station does not represent a physical obstacle and is also unobtrusive from an optical point of view.
In the case of a wire-bound charging process, a charging cable of the charging station is connected to a corresponding input connection of the electric vehicle. In the case of high-capacity charging stations, i.e. high-speed charging stations, the charging cable is firmly connected on the charging station side to the charging station or to the charging current source thereof and, at the other side, to a plug. In particular, in the case of AC charging stations, it is also possible for a socket to be present on the charging post and the charging cable then has a plug at both ends.
In the case of wire-bound charging, a differentiation is made between AC charging and DC charging. In the case of AC charging, the charging post provides an alternating current which is first rectified by a converter in the electric vehicle. In the case of DC charging, the charging station supplies the direct current with which the battery of the vehicle is charged directly, i.e. without the inclusion of further intermediate power-electronics components.
Typically, a much more powerful AC-DC converter is incorporated in a DC charging station than is sensible and possible in a vehicle. Unlike the case with AC charging with charging times of currently approximately 4 h to 8 h, the objective of DC charging is generally high-speed charging with charging times of about 15 min to 30 min for a charging capacity or energy of about 20 kWh to 40 kWh.
According to the related art, in the case of air cooling, the electrical and electronic components (including housing and cooling) required for a DC charging station with a output power of 50 kW to 100 kW occupy a volume of 0.5 m3 to 1.0 m3 and weigh several hundred kilograms. This means a complete DC charging station cannot be integrated in a slimline charging post with a width and a depth of, for example, about 20 cm to 30 cm, as is the case with AC charging.
Therefore, in the case of DC charging, the choice is to accommodate the power electronics in a separate receptacle or container and to use a visible charging post as in the case of AC charging, wherein this charging post only contains the charging cable and the charging plug for the vehicle and a control unit.
However, the use of the charging posts brings with it the problem that they are generally located in a freely accessible space and in a more or less public space so that they could possibly be perceived as having a negative impact on the environment, for example due to insufficient integration in the cityscape. In addition, due to their comparatively exposed position, charging posts are also disadvantageous for safety and maintenance reasons.